The Rise of Dawn
by xCelesx
Summary: Fawnpaw was a former kittypet and now struggles with her acceptance into the Clan. Shortly after her arival, Firestar disappears and a sinister cat may be on the rise.
1. Chapter 1

Fawnpaw sighed. She was glad that she was an apprentice at last, but why, oh why, did her mentor have to be Shadowfrost? Even his name sounds evil and mischievous. His pelt was a dark blue splattered with black. It perfectly suits him, Fawnpaw thought, batting around a dead leaf. His eyes were darkest of blue, and his teeth could sink into anything. Fawnpaw shuddered at that thought of her being the victim. What was Eaglestar thinking? Surely this cat couldn't be trusted.

Shadowfrost padded up to her. "Come on, we need to do some training." He flicked his ear impatiently when Fawnpaw just stared at him. She had never been so frightened in her short life. Training with Shadowfrost was definitely one of the things she had never wanted to do.

"Are you coming or not?" Shadowfrost growled. Fawnpaw hesitated but then got up and followed Shadowfrost into the sandy training pits. Skystream and her apprentice Wavepaw were already there, practicing combat moves. They glanced over at Shadowfrost and Fawnpaw as they entered. Fawnpaw shifted her paws uneasily; she knew ThunderClan didn't quite like her yet because she was a former kittypet. It wasn't her fault, exactly, why she was a kittypet. She recounted the story to herself, to get mind off of things.

When she was young, only a kit, her mother abandoned her in an old barn and left her there. It wasn't until later that day that some Twolegs found her and took her to their nest. Fawnpaw, then called Brownie, hated it there, and hated all the disgusting food. She often daydreamed about being able to catch her own prey and eat it. One day she was running around outside in a field when she heard rustling bushes and turned to look at who was disturbing her. It was a tortoiseshell cat that said her name was Eagledawn. Eagledawn asked Fawnpaw to attack her. Fawnpaw cautiously stepped back, but when Eagledawn told her it was all right, she attacked Eagledawn. She raked Eagledawn with her small claws. The tortoiseshell had told Fawnpaw to come with her, and so Fawnpaw did. While they were walking, Eagledawn told Fawnpaw that she was originally a rogue, too, and that she had to endure ridicule from her Clan. When they arrived at ThunderClan camp, Eagledawn told Fawnpaw that it was her new home. Fawnpaw was very happy to have finally gotten away from the Twolegs. ThunderClan's leader, Firestar, held her naming ceremony that day. But a few days later, Firestar mysteriously disappeared, and hasn't been seen since. Eagledawn, the deputy, took over and though she did not receive her nine lives, it was a sign that Firestar was still alive somewhere. That made Fawnpaw happy, since she had liked Firestar; he was a kind cat and warmly welcomed her into the Clan. It was a real shame that he so mysteriously disappeared.

Shadowfrost smacked Fawnpaw with his tail. "Quit daydreaming and let's get training!" he growled, then pushed his apprentice into the sandy pit. Fawnpaw stumbled in on weary paws and glared at Shadowfrost. She knew she was taking a huge risk by picking a fight with him, but she was wiling to do it anyway.  
"You don't have to be so harsh," she meowed coldly. Shadowfrost's response to this was to attack Fawnpaw. He leaped at her, gripping her neck with his paws and biting at her throat. "Kittypets should die!" he yowled, ripping Fawnpaw's flank with his claws. A hard blow struck her to her forehead and Fawnpaw felt Shawdowfrost's weight on her bones and heard a cracking, snapping noise. Fawnpaw tried to throw him off, but he was just too heavy and her bones were weak. Skystream and Wavepaw bounded over to help. They managed to pull him off, and Fawnpaw gasped for breath. Shadowfrost was hissing and spitting at them. "I'll get you one day, kittypet!" he snarled, and then he raced back to camp.

Fawnpaw tried to get up, but she couldn't. She felt something hot and sticky leaking onto her fur. She knew what it was immediately: blood! She could hear running paw steps behind her and knew she was about to be rescued. Blood was running into her eyes and she couldn't see. Fawnpaw heard loud yowling behind her, and a startled screech coming from the camp. The young she-cat desperately tried to get up and see what was going on, but all she heard was a bone-chilling, blood-curdling crack. With faint horror she realized what was going on before darkness crept over her and she moved no more.


	2. Chapter 2

"Come here."

Fawnpaw slowly opened her brown eyes and looked around. She was surrounded by cool, purple mist that had a mysterious aura about it. A dark figure was standing in front of her. Its eyes glowed like moonlight.

"You have come at last," it said.

"Who are you?" Fawnpaw inquired. "And am I…dead?"

"Far from it. I am Feathertail, and I have come to tell you of a prophecy." Feathertail, now that Fawnpaw could see her, was a beautiful gray tabby. She moved gracefully over to Fawnpaw's side and looked her in the eyes.

"A…a prophecy?" Fawnpaw mumbled. "But I thought only leaders and medicine cats could get prophecies!"

"That is mostly true, young one, but you…you are something quite special." Feathertail whispered. Fawnpaw could feel her whiskers brush up against her dusty brown coat. "_Your blood will betray the forest, and the blood of your blood will hold the truth,_" the gray she-cat murmured so quietly, Fawnpaw thought she must have imagined it. Then Feather bunched up her leg muscles and bounded away into the endless purple mist.

The brown she-cat was left all alone in the mist. Her paws were covered with the silky residue, and she tried to shake it off. To her amusement, the mist swirled in the air and then reformed itself. Fawnpaw was amusing herself by swirling the mist but then was interrupted by a distant rumbling sound that shook the ground underneath of Fawnpaw. All of the mist disappeared into a swirling vortex. Fawnpaw felt herself being sucked into it, and then everything faded away into nothingness…

"As I was saying, the kits are due in a moon and there's no time for…well, look at that, I think Fawnpaw is awake at last!"

Fawnpaw opened her brown eyes slowly. She could smell the sharp tang of herbs and realized instantly that she was in Leafpool's den. She could see Squirrelflight standing by Leafpool and glaring at Fawnpaw. Her kits were swollen with the kits that were sure to come soon. Jaywing was also there, sorting herbs into piles.

Leafpool hurried over to Fawnpaw. "Oh, you're awake at last! You've been unconscious for four days! Jaypaw, please go tell Eagledawn—I mean Eaglestar." The tabby she-cat meowed. Jaywing scampered off while Leafpool retrieved some terrible smelling herb and set it down in front of Fawnpaw. "Eat it. It will help you recover." Fawnpaw did as she was told. She hated the bitter taste of herbs, but she knew it would help. Hastily she swallowed the vile herb and meowed, "What happened to Shadowfrost?"

Leafpool and Squirrelflight exchanged worried glances with each other. "He was driven into exile by Eagledaw—I mean Eaglestar. He almost attacked Eaglestar, too," Squirrelflight meowed. At that moment Brambleclaw and Hollyleaf, his daughter, came padding in.

"Oh, Squirrelflight, how are the —hello, Fawnpaw, you're awake at last. We thought we'd seen the last—"

Squirrelflight silenced her mate, Brambleclaw by slapping her tail across his mouth and giving him stern look. "What he meant to say was that we're happy you're okay. You received quite a blow there to your forehead. Shadowfrost is one bad cat. He's always had a short temper, but we've never seen him like this before."

Hollyleaf, stepping besides her mother, nodded. "He was a rogue, but then Firestar just had to let him join ThunderClan. If you ask me, he always seemed a little shady to me."

Fawnpaw was shocked. Shadowfrost was a rogue? That certainly came as a shock.

"But then who will my new mentor be?" she inquired. She couldn't start training until she got a new mentor.

"Eaglestar was waiting until you woke up to announce it. I think she has he mind set already," Brambleclaw chimed in. As soon as those words escaped his teeth's barrier, a familiar call was sounded through the air.

"May all cats old enough to catch their own prey join under the Highrock for a Clan meeting."


	3. Chapter 3

"Get up, foxdung."

The big dark tom slowly rose to stand on his wobbly knees. He was all out of breath, and he could here heavy breaths beside him. He turned his head to his right and saw a beautiful white young she-cat standing by a huge black and white tom. The she-cat's bright green eyes had a seducing light in them, and the bedraggled tom couldn't help staring into them. He had been gone for so long, he wondered if his mate even missed him. Then again, his mate didn't even know that he existed anymore. And his daughter…he had no idea what happened to her. He had been overcome with rage when his mate decided to leave him and their kit for a "better life", as she called it. He had followed her to this "better life" and had become lost. It was many moons that went by until he came to his new home. But then he had been driven out and was stuck with two strange cats and one cat who probably wanted nothing except to mate with him.

The black-and-white tom stared the dark tom in the face with two menacing icy eyes. The white she-cat raised her delightful eyes and pranced gracefully over to the newcomer and purred in his ear, "I have…what you want. What you've been seeking."

The tom just glared at her with two blue eyes. He didn't want anything, only another mate. The she-cat... now that he thought about her, she was probably the most beautiful cat he'd ever seen. Except for his mate, who didn't even recognize him anymore. "What do you mean?" he asked nonchalantly.

"Why…don't you know?" the white she-cat asked, positioning herself in front of the dark cat. "I know you. I know you want another mate. We've been spying on you and your precious Clan. I know you what you desire most. Oh yes, my name is Cream." She blinked slowly and waited for the newcomer's response.

The dark tom didn't know what to say. He desperately wanted a mate, yes, but he didn't even know Cream. Although, she was beautiful, and not to mention very tempting.

"My name is Shadowfrost. And…before I do or say anything to you, I want to know who your friend is," Shadowfrost commanded coldly, flicking his blue tail at the black-and-white tom standing besides Cream.

The large tom glared at Shadowfrost and responded, "My name is Oreo. I heard it's some kind of Twoleg food. Disgusting name, if you ask me. Anyway, Cream is my sister and you better do what she asks, or you'll have to deal with me." Oreo added a snort for effect, and shifted his large yellow eyes to Cream for a response.

"That's right, Shadowfrost. Unless you want that fur of yours clawed off, you better do what I say. I want you to be my mate and I want kits," Cream meowed, and then moved so that she sat by Shadowfrost's side, close enough that he could feel the warmth pulsing off of her. It made him feel so relaxed and calm. Her pleading, innocent gaze made his heart melt, and he just gave in.

"Okay, all right, I'll be your mate. But only because you're so wonderfully…lovely. And because I want a mate and kits, and you'll just have to do," Shadowfrost purred. Now that he thought about it, he'd rather be with her than anybody else.

Cream purred happily and brushed her bushy tail against his blue and black pelt. "Then we're all set now…come with us, and we'll show you our home. Our home is your home," she meowed, and signaled for him to follow her and Oreo. They climbed up a steep hill and then walked through small woods. It wasn't too long before they reached a den in the shade of a large oak tree. Cream purred and led Shadowfrost inside and signaled with her tail to Oreo that he should stay outside. In one corner of the den were 2 piles of moss, which served, no doubt, as beds. In another corner was a small pile of fresh-kill. Cream walked over to one of the moss beds and pointed to it with her tail. "This is where you will sleep," she meowed, and then began to walk out of the den.

"But wait," Shadowfrost cried. "I want to—"

"Not now," Cream meowed sharply, and she darted outside the entrance to meet with Oreo. She walked over to a bush and Oreo followed her.

"Is he asleep?" Oreo asked, swiping his paw over his ear.

"Yes," Cream purred after she heard his snoring. "Now all we need to do is trap him and make him answer a few questions. Such a fool, thinking I was actually going to be his mate! Ha!"

"Not so loud!" Oreo hissed. "Don't wake him up."

Cream nodded. She couldn't wait for her plan to take action.


End file.
